Spray pump

ABSTRACT

A pump for spraying liquid finishing agents used in washing, medicines and the like comprising a cylinder consisting of an upper larger diameter portion, a lower larger diameter portion and a tapered portion interconnecting integrally said upper and smaller portions and having a suction port, and a piston axially movably fitted into said cylinder and having a tapered portion which is adapted to engage with said tapered portion of said cylinder. The positive spraying is ensured; the leakage of the liquid through the suction port can be positively prevented; and the air can be introduced through the suction port for replacement of the discharged or sprayed liquid.

[ 1 Feb. 8, 1972 United States atem Susuki et al.

54] SPRAY PUMP FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 58,945 11/1967Germany.Q.............................

[72] lnventors: Rinnosulke Susuki, Tokyo; Hiroshi Hoshi, Narashino;Shinichi Araki, Funabashi, all of Japan [73] Assignee: Raion YushiKabushiki Kaislta, Tokyo,

d d mm rt co k mm SS 88 66 99 ll 73 80 57 57 54 44 Japan PrimaryExaminer-Samuel F. Coleman Flledl 1970 Assistant Examiner-Larry Martin12,824 Attorney-Cushman, Darby & Cushman [211 App]. No.:

ed liquid.

ABSTRACT A pump for spraying liquid finishing agents used in washing,medicines and the like comprising a cylinder consisting of an upperlarger diameter portion, a lower larger diameter portion and a taperedportion interconnecting integrally said upper and smaller portions andhaving a suction port, and a piston axially movably fitted into saidcylinder and having a tapered portion which is adapted to engage withsaid tapered portion of said cylinder. The positive spraying is ensured;the leakage of the liquid through the suction port can be positivelyevented; and the air can be introduced through the suction port forreplacement of the discharged or spray 7 r U P 5 52 .,.,6 6 80 4 4 3u0 27 0 l. 4 5 I 2 4 %5 1 4 5 3A0 v 3 .08 u 3 4 u 5/ m u w fin a u 9 S 2 .lD W m m 09 n n u 37 m 0 n "..5 M A h n ""3 t. n ""63 .l P n m Inn C s n.m 1 a m h n C a n I 5 n A h m. m m; m T p a "2 f S P m m0 e D A W5 R Ea; I m n .l w 9 mm M 0 1 a" H F 6 L 12 2 d a sm F U11 1] 11]] 0 2 00 6 3555 5 I. till .I.

3,336,842 8/1967 Adelt...................................92/194X3Claims,3l)rawingfigunes w "(Id 3 \\\\\\\\t \\\\A .1 Ma i aea a 9 1 MM!M I VIIIIIIQZw 7 IV WIIIIIZIV/XM 7 l v 1 t W u SPRAY PUMP BACKGROUND OFTHE INVENTION The present invention relates to generally a pump and moreparticularly a pump for spraying liquid finishing agents used inwashing, medicines and the like.

The conventional pump for spraying or dispenser comprises generally acylindrical cylinder and a piston fitted therein for axial movement. Asuction port is formed through the sidewall of the cylinder and isadapted to be closed and opened depending upon a first (normal) positionand a second (pushed) position of the piston. Therefore, when thesuction port is opened, the air is introduced therethrough so as toreplace the liquid within the cylinder. When the suction port is closed,the container will not cause any leakage even it is turned upside down.However, the suction port is formed through the sidewall of the hollowcylindrical body so that there must be provided special means forpressing the piston radially against the sidewall of the cylinder inorder the suction port may be positively opened and closed dependingupon the axial movement of the piston. Alternatively, the piston must becomprised of two members which are spaced apart from each other in theaxial direction so that the suction port may be interposed between saidtwo axially spaced apart members and that said two members may be morefirmly pressed against the inner wall of the cylinder. Thus, theconventional pump for spraying or dispenser is complicated inconstruction and expensive to manufacture.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above, a primary object of thepresent invention is to provide a pump for spraying having a cylinderand piston assembly simple in construction in which the piston canpositively open and close a suction port, thereby eliminating theleakage of liquid through the suction port even when the container isturned upside down.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a pump forspraying in which the piston can be maintained in more intimate contactwith the inner wall of the cylinder so that no leakage is caused whenthe piston is actuated and that a higher liquid spraying pressure may beproduced within the cylinder.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a pump forspraying consisting of a minimum number of parts so that the manufactureand assembly of the parts into pumps are much facilitated at less cost.In brief, the present invention provides a pump for spraying having acylinder consisting of an upper smaller diameter portion, a lower largerdiameter portion and a tapered portion integrally connecting said twoportions and having a suction port formed therethrough and a pistonwhich is slidably fitted into the cylinder and which has also a taperedportion which is normally biased by spring means so as to intimatelycontact with the tapered portion of the cylinder, the tapered portion ofthe piston being moved away from the tapered portion of the cylinderonly when a plunger is depressed, thereby improving the suction portopening and closing operation.

It is'therefore readily seen that the piston can normally firmly closethe suction port by the spring means so that even when the container isturned upside down, the leakage of liquid can be completely prevented.

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the presentinvention will become more apparent from'the following description ofsome illustrative embodiments thereof taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a firstembodiment of the present invention illustrating a piston in its normalposition; FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1 illustrating the piston inits depressed or lower position; and FIG. 3 is a sectional view of asecond embodiment of the present invention.

Same parts are designated by same reference numerals throughout thefigures.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to FIG. I, acontainer 1 has a cylinder 3 secured to the opening of the housing 1 bymeans of a cap 2. The cylinder 3 consists of two coaxial hollow smalland large diameter sections 31 and 32 which are integrally connectedwith each other by a tapered portion 33 having a suction port 34. Aplunger 5 which is coaxially fitted into the cylinder 3 is generally inthe form of a hollow cylinder having a liquid passage 51 formed thereinand a nozzle head 6 fixed to the upper end thereof. Below a steppedportion 53 a piston 4 is slidably fixed to the plunger 5. A hole 52 incommunication with the fluid passage 51 is formed through the lower endportion of the plunger 5.

The piston 4 consists of two hollow smaller and larger diameter portions41 and 42 coaxially formed into a unitary construction. The smalldiameter portion 41 of the piston 4 has such a shape that the radialspace may be defined between the smaller diameter portion 41 and thesmaller diameter portion 31 of the cylinder 3. On the other hand, thelarger diameter portion 42 of the piston 4 is so dimensioned that it maybe snugly fitted into the larger diameter portion 32 of the cylinder 3.The tapered portion 43 of the piston 4 is normally made in close contactwith the inner wall of the tapered portion 33 of the cylinder 3. Theupper end 44 of the piston 4 is normally spaced apart from the steppedportion 53 of the plunger 5.

One or two coils 81 of a coiled spring 8 have a large diameter and arepressed against the inner wall of the larger diameter portion 42 of thepiston 4, thereby facilitating the more intimate contact of the largerdiameter portion 42 with the inner wall of the cylinder 3.

The lower end of the coiled spring 8 is supported by a washer 9 havingan opening 91 and being disposed upon the bottom member 35 of thecylinder 3. To the bottom member 35 is fixed a suction tube 10 and uponthe upper end of the section end is placed a ball valve 11.

Next the mode of operation will be described hereinafter. Upondepression of the plunger 5 by pressing down the spray nozzle head 6 bythe finger, the stepped portion 53 of the plunger 5 is lowered andcontacted with the upper end 44 of the piston 4 so that the piston 4 iscaused to move downwardly. When the finger is removed from the spraynozzle head 6, the piston 4 is caused to move upwardly by the coiledspring 8 so that a liquid in the container or housing 1 is sucked intothe cylinder 3. When the piston 4 is moved downwardly again, thepressure is applied to the liquid within the cylinder 3so that theliquid is sprayed through the spray nozzle head 6 through the space Cbetween the inner wall of the tapered portion 43 of the piston 4 and thewasher 7, the hole 52 and the liquid passage 51. As best shown in FIG.2, the tapered portion 43 of the piston 4 is moved away from the taperedportion 33 of the cylinder 3 so that the suction port 34 is opened,thereby introducing the atmospheric air into the container 1 through theport 34. Thus. the discharged liquid is smoothly replaced by theintroduced air.

Since the coil 81 of the coiled spring 8 pushes the piston 4 radiallyoutwardly toward the cylinder 3 so that much pressure is exerted to theliquid within the cylinder 3. Since the peripheral edge 71 of the washer7 serves to press the tapered 1 portion 43 of the piston 4 against thetapered portion 33 of the cylinder 3, the leakage of the liquid throughthe suction port 34 and/or the leakage through the spacing between thepiston 4 and the cylinder 3 may be effectively prevented. Next thesecond embodiment of the present invention will be described hereinafterwith reference to FIG. 3. In the second embodiment only the piston, thehole formed through the plunger and the coiled spring are different fromthose in the first embodiment. A piston 14 has no larger diameterportion as in the first embodiment and is in the form of a cone as awhole consisting of a small diameter portion 141 and a tapered portion143. At the lower end of the plunger 5 is formed a plurality of notches54 and the coiled spring 8 has no coil which presses the piston 14radially outwardly. Other parts are substantially similar to thosedescribed in the first embodiment. The mode of operation of the secondembodiment will be readily apparent from the description of the firstembodiment so that no further description will be made.

The present invention has been so far described with particularreference to the illustrative embodiments thereof, but it will beunderstood that variations and modifications can be effected withoutdeparting from the true spirit of the present invention as describedhereinabove and as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A spray pump for spraying fluid comprising:

a container cap for securement in an opening of a container partlyfilled with liquid; said container cap having an annular end wall with acentral opening;

a tubular cylinder extending down from the underside of the containercap; said tubular cylinder including an upper, smaller diametercylindrical portion and a lower, larger diameter portion and anintermediate, tapering portion extending between the lower extent of theupper portion and the upper extent of the lower portion, said taperingportion having means defining an annular internal, downwardly andradially inwardly facing, tapered surface;

means defining a suction opening through the tapering portionintermediate the axial extent thereof;

a suction tube. communicating with the tubular cylinder adjacent thelower end of the tubular cylinder and adapted to depend into a body ofliquid in the container;

means defining a one-way check valve between said tubular cylinder andsaid suction tube, oriented to permit fluid flow from said suction tubeto said tubular cylinder;

a tubular piston slidably received in said tubular cylinder;

said tubular piston having means defining an upwardly and radiallyoutwardly facing tapered surface configured to engage the taperedsurface on the tubular cylinder intermediate portion in sealingengagement therewith at the upper extent of the sliding of said tubularpiston, said tapered surface on the tubular piston surrounding meansdefining a throughbore of the tubular piston;

a tubular plunger slidably received in the throughbore of the tubularpiston and extending axially beyond said tubular piston in bothdirections;

said plunger, above said tubular piston, including means defining aradially enlarged portion having a downwardly facing shoulder positionedto engage the tubular piston;

said plunger, below said tubular piston, including means defining aradially enlarged portion having an upwardly facing shoulder positionedto engage the tubular piston;

the vertical distance between said downwardly facing shoulder and saidupwardly facing shoulder being greater than the thickness of the tubularpiston where it is engaged by the two shoulders, thereby providing forlimited axial movement between the tubular plunder and the tubularpiston and alternative engagement of the tubular piston by the twoshoulders;

means defining an opening through said tubular plunger communicatingbetween the throughbore thereof and the exterior thereof intermediatethe two shoulders, this opening being so positioned that when theupwardly fac' ing shoulder is in engagement with the tubular piston, theopening is closed by contact with the wall of the throughbore of thetubular piston and that when the downwardly facing shoulder is inengagement with the tubular piston, the opening communicates between thethroughbore of the plunger and the interior of the tubular cylinder,under the tubular piston;

said plunger proceeding upwardly through said central opening in thecontainer cap;

a combined spray head and pushbutton means mounted upon the valve rodabove said central opening, and having means defining a fluid outletpassageway therein in communication with the throughbore of saidplunger;

means blocking the throughbore of the plunger below said openingthereof;

a compression coil spring received and mounted, within the tubularcylinder, and arranged to obtain purchase against the tubular cylinderto resiliently force the plunger and the tubular piston upwardly to theupper positions thereof wherein the upwardly facing shoulder engages thetubular piston and forces the piston upwardly so that the recitedsealing achievement is achieved, and so that, when the pushbutton meansis depressed, the plunger moves downwardly further resilientlycompressing the coil spring, thus establishing communication through theopening in the plunger and then permitting communication between theexterior of the cap and the exterior of the intermediate, taperedportion of the tubular cylinder through said opening in saidintermediate, tapered portion.

2. A spray pump comprising a hollow cylinder having a suction port andbeing secured to the opening of a container by means of a cap; a pistonaxially movably fitted into said cylinder; a plunger axially movablyfitted into said cylinder and provided with a liquid passage formedtherethrough and with a radial hole in communication with said passageand opening at the outer periphery at the lower end portion thereof; acoiled spring which normally biases said piston axially and which has atleast one coil biasing the lower end portion of said piston radiallyoutwardly, said coiled spring being supported at the lower end by awasher having an opening and disposed upon the bottom member of saidcylinder, to which is fixed a suction tube together with a ball valveplaced upon the upper end of it; and a spray head fixed to the upper endof said plunger, having a nozzle in corru'nunication with said liquidpassage of said plunger, characterized by that:

a. said cylinder comprises an upper small diameter portion,

a lower large diameter portion and a tapered portion with said suctionport on it, interconnecting integrally said both portions;

. said piston comprises a tapered portion which is adapted to engagewith said tapered portion of said cylinder, a smaller diameter portionwhich forms a radial space between it and the small diameter portion ofsaid cylinder, and a larger diameter portion which is adapted to engagewith said large diameter portion of said cylinder;

c. said plunger is slidably fitted into said piston at the lower portionthereof and is provided with a stepped portion at the same portion,which is normally spaced apart from the upper portion of said piston;and

. said plunger is provided with a washer supported by said coiled springat the lower end, which has a peripheral edge serving to press fimtlysaid tapered portion of said piston against said tapered portion of saidcylinder.

3. A spray pump comprising a hollow cylinder having a suction port andsecured to the opening of a container by means of a cap; a pistonaxially movably fitted into said cylinder, a plunger axially movablyfitted into said cylinder, having a liquid passage formed therethroughin the axial direction; a coiled spring normally biasing said pistonaxially, being supported at the lower end by a washer having an openingand disposed upon the bottom member of said cylinder, to which is placeda suction tube with a ball valve upon it; and a spray head being fixedto the upper end of said plunger and having a nozzle in communicationwith said passage of said plunger, characterized by that:

a. said piston cylinder comprises an upper small diameter portion, alarger diameter portion and a tapered portion with said suction port onit, interconnecting said both portions integrally;

b, said piston comprises a tapered portion which is adapted to engagewith said tapered portion of said cylinder and a smaller diameterportion which forms a radial space between it and the said large portionof said cylinder;

c. said plunger is slidably fitted into said piston at the lower portionthereof and is provided with a stepped portion at the same portion whichis normally spaced apart from the upper portion of said piston;

d. said plunger is provided with a washer supported by said coiledspring at the low end thereof, which has a peripheral edge sewing topress firmly said tapered por-

1. A spray pump for spraying fluid comprising: a container cap forsecurement in an opening of a container partly filled with liquid; saidcontainer cap having an annular end wall with a central opening; atubular cylinder extending down from the underside of the container cap;said tubular cylinder including an upper, smaller diameter cylindricalportion and a lower, larger diameter portion and an intermediate,tapering portion extending between the lower extent of the upper portionand the upper extent of the lower portion, said tapering portion havingmeans defining an annular internal, downwardly and radially inwardlyfacing, tapered surface; means defining a suction opening through thetapering portion intermediate the axial extent thereof; a suction tubecommunicating with the tubular cylinder adjacent the lower end of thetubular cylinder and adapted to depend into a body of liquid in thecontainer; means defining a one-way check valve between said tubularcylinder and said suction tube, oriented to permit fluid flow from saidsuction tube to said tubular cylinder; a tubular piston slidablyreceived in said tubular cylinder; said tubular piston having meansdefining an upwardly and radially outwardly facing tapered surfaceconfigured to engage the tapered surface on the tubular cylinderintermediate portion in sealing engagement therewith at the upper extentof the sliding of said tubular piston, said tapered surface on thetubular piston surrounding means defining a throughbore of the tubularpiston; a tubular plunger slidably received in the throughbore of thetubular piston and extending axially beyond said tubular piston in bothdirections; said plunger, above said tubular piston, including meansdefining a radially enlarged portion having a downwardly facing shoulderpositioned to engage the tubular piston; said plunger, below saidtubular piston, including means defining a radially enlarged poRtionhaving an upwardly facing shoulder positioned to engage the tubularpiston; the vertical distance between said downwardly facing shoulderand said upwardly facing shoulder being greater than the thickness ofthe tubular piston where it is engaged by the two shoulders, therebyproviding for limited axial movement between the tubular plunger and thetubular piston and alternative engagement of the tubular piston by thetwo shoulders; means defining an opening through said tubular plungercommunicating between the throughbore thereof and the exterior thereofintermediate the two shoulders, this opening being so positioned thatwhen the upwardly facing shoulder is in engagement with the tubularpiston, the opening is closed by contact with the wall of thethroughbore of the tubular piston and that when the downwardly facingshoulder is in engagement with the tubular piston, the openingcommunicates between the throughbore of the plunger and the interior ofthe tubular cylinder, under the tubular piston; said plunger proceedingupwardly through said central opening in the container cap; a combinedspray head and pushbutton means mounted upon the valve rod above saidcentral opening, and having means defining a fluid outlet passagewaytherein in communication with the throughbore of said plunger; meansblocking the throughbore of the plunger below said opening thereof; acompression coil spring received and mounted, within the tubularcylinder, and arranged to obtain purchase against the tubular cylinderto resiliently force the plunger and the tubular piston upwardly to theupper positions thereof wherein the upwardly facing shoulder engages thetubular piston and forces the piston upwardly so that the recitedsealing achievement is achieved, and so that, when the pushbutton meansis depressed, the plunger moves downwardly further resilientlycompressing the coil spring, thus establishing communication through theopening in the plunger and then permitting communication between theexterior of the cap and the exterior of the intermediate, taperedportion of the tubular cylinder through said opening in saidintermediate, tapered portion.
 2. A spray pump comprising a hollowcylinder having a suction port and being secured to the opening of acontainer by means of a cap; a piston axially movably fitted into saidcylinder; a plunger axially movably fitted into said cylinder andprovided with a liquid passage formed therethrough and with a radialhole in communication with said passage and opening at the outerperiphery at the lower end portion thereof; a coiled spring whichnormally biases said piston axially and which has at least one coilbiasing the lower end portion of said piston radially outwardly, saidcoiled spring being supported at the lower end by a washer having anopening and disposed upon the bottom member of said cylinder, to whichis fixed a suction tube together with a ball valve placed upon the upperend of it; and a spray head fixed to the upper end of said plunger,having a nozzle in communication with said liquid passage of saidplunger, characterized by that: a. said cylinder comprises an uppersmall diameter portion, a lower large diameter portion and a taperedportion with said suction port on it, interconnecting integrally saidboth portions; b. said piston comprises a tapered portion which isadapted to engage with said tapered portion of said cylinder, a smallerdiameter portion which forms a radial space between it and the smalldiameter portion of said cylinder, and a larger diameter portion whichis adapted to engage with said large diameter portion of said cylinder;c. said plunger is slidably fitted into said piston at the lower portionthereof and is provided with a stepped portion at the same portion,which is normally spaced apart from the upper portion of said piston;and d. said plunger is provided with a washer supported by said coiledspring at the lower end, which has a peripheral edge seRving to pressfirmly said tapered portion of said piston against said tapered portionof said cylinder.
 3. A spray pump comprising a hollow cylinder having asuction port and secured to the opening of a container by means of acap; a piston axially movably fitted into said cylinder, a plungeraxially movably fitted into said cylinder, having a liquid passageformed therethrough in the axial direction; a coiled spring normallybiasing said piston axially, being supported at the lower end by awasher having an opening and disposed upon the bottom member of saidcylinder, to which is placed a suction tube with a ball valve upon it;and a spray head being fixed to the upper end of said plunger and havinga nozzle in communication with said passage of said plunger,characterized by that: a. said piston cylinder comprises an upper smalldiameter portion, a larger diameter portion and a tapered portion withsaid suction port on it, interconnecting said both portions integrally;b. said piston comprises a tapered portion which is adapted to engagewith said tapered portion of said cylinder and a smaller diameterportion which forms a radial space between it and the said large portionof said cylinder; c. said plunger is slidably fitted into said piston atthe lower portion thereof and is provided with a stepped portion at thesame portion which is normally spaced apart from the upper portion ofsaid piston; d. said plunger is provided with a washer supported by saidcoiled spring at the low end thereof, which has a peripheral edgeserving to press firmly said tapered portion of said piston against saidtapered portion of said cylinder; and e. said plunger is provided with aplurality of notches in communicating with said liquid passage of saidplunger at the lower end thereof.